To random people I’ve silently judged.Not that I’m like, eaten up with judgment or obsessive or anything (much).I just sometimes send these things in a mass email to people who know the real me (and will still laugh at my jokes).Side note: I am snarky, silly, weird, and absurd.Mostly on the inside, but you know, that’s how I roll.These people requested that I make my letters public.I apologize in advance.Or something.Enjoy!

Dear Petite Lady in Jogging Suit,

I saw you judging me (yeah, those dark glasses don’t hide everything, do they?), but I still gave you a real smile in case it was just a bad day. Making eye contact and then frowning? Not cool. Plus, it’ll give you even more wrinkles. Ta!

Love,

Me

Dear Guy Clipping His Fingernails on the Bus,

Oh hey. I understand your commitment to personal hygiene, I really do. You're a handsome dude, and you want to take care of yourself. PUT. DOWN. THE NAIL CLIPPERS. That stuff is just not acceptable in a public setting. Ever. Yeah, that's right. Pull out your sci-fi novel and keep your dead skin cells to yourself.

Kthanksbye!

Love,

Me

Dear Self,

You know you are a nerd when…you figure out a way to download a book to your crackberry and then read so intently that you miss your Metro stop. And have to circle back. Try to pay attention. Also? You already have too many books. And you don’t have any room to judge the tourists when you’re freaking missing your stop. Geez.

Everyone slips into reading funks every now and then, right?I know that when I’m disorganized, stressed at my real job, and feeling overwhelmed by it all, I’m not a great reader.But I still start looking around for that one book that will break my malaise. Cold Magic did the trick for me recently.And not to be precipitate, but it’s one of my favorite books of the year.

From one of the genre's finest writers comes a bold new epic fantasy in which science and magic are locked in a deadly struggle.

It is the dawn of a new age... The Industrial Revolution has begun, factories are springing up across the country, and new technologies are transforming in the cities. But the old ways do not die easy.

Cat and Bee are part of this revolution. Young women at college, learning of the science that will shape their future and ignorant of the magics that rule their families. But all of that will change when the Cold Mages come for Cat. New dangers lurk around every corner and hidden threats menace her every move. Who can she trust?

Going in to reading this book, I knew that it had a pretty cover and that Velvet at vvb32reads had featured it during steamPINK week.No more information than that.The question then became, “What IS it?”Short answer: really good.Long answer: it’s a fantasy-adventure mash-up, featuring alternate history, fantastical creatures, best friends, traitors, mysterious magic, “icepunk,” a smattering of romance (complete with a forced marriage!), and an epic chase and fight for survival.

Cat and her cousin Bee are living in a world on the edge of change: a perilous world filled with both magic and science.And while the girls are slowly learning the extent of the danger and how their histories will throw them into that world, they are also just girls, and their daily exploits seem to be enough.Until disaster strikes.They’re thrown into survival mode as everything around them shakes and changes and new knowledge reveals even more of who they are, where they come from, and what their lives mean on a larger scale.It’s enthralling reading, and Cat’s adventure is hell-for-leather excitement and hazard.

My initial reaction: seriously frustrated that the next book isn’t out yet.My later reaction: it’s a quality fantasy for any age, but it has high YA crossover appeal.And at its heart it’s a very human coming-of-age story, with all the accoutrements of saga, myth and history to make it palatable for the most discerning of sci-fi and fantasy devotees.It made me believe the story in a way that (recent YA fantasy release) Brightly Woven did not.It’s also set in a fully realized alternate world, with histories and details set ‘just so.’

The book’s strengths, otherwise known as my favorite bits: 1) Cat – confused, fierce, loyal, scared…any way you paint her, the girl is cool.2) Bee – I’ve come to realize that I really like books with strong female friendships.I’m best friends with my sister, and I identify with similar relationships when I find them in my reading life.I believed the story more because of the dynamic that Cat and Bee have.It’s convincing.3) Cold magic and cold mages – very mysterious and very strange. But I want to know more.A lot more.Like, NOW.Hopefully we get this sorted in the next couple of books.And hopefully those books will come soon.The book’s weaknesses: none to speak of.Well, in my opinion.*grin*

Cold Magic takes place in a spectacular world with enough mysteries, tension and trailing loose ends to guarantee a satisfying three-part tale.And with an intro like that, you might think that I’m saying it was a set-up book.Not at ALL.It left me with a grin (from the part of the story we got) and a boatload of anticipation (for the part that is yet to come).My prediction: the story will only get deeper and better from here.

Recommended for: fans of fantasy, and the YA addict looking to dip a toe in more traditional fantasy waters without sacrificing strong female characters and traditional hints of romance.

Cold Magic releases on September 9, 2010. If you’d like to win this gently-read ARC before then, I’m going to give it away.Check out the info below!

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To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering the question, "What do you think ‘icepunk’ means?”

Please include your email address or another method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on August 12 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winners via email.

Good luck!

I picked up an ARC copy at ALA – HUGE THANKS to the Hachette people (Orbit, you rock!).I seriously hearted this book.

This is a red-letter day. Or bright-yellow-banner-proclaiming-general-awesomeness day. Well, it’s Saturday, and most Saturdays are like that, but this one is MORESO. Because we have a special guest at the blog - Adam Selzer, author of I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It (insert clashing cymbals here)!

What made you want to write about zombies? Have you had any personal experience with them?

Honestly, it was my publisher's idea. I had written a song about finding out that a significant other was dead, not just a goth, years before, but never thought to make it into a book. A person dumb enough to mistake a zombie for a goth is okay in a song, but how do you make it last a whole book? I had to do a lot of figuring to make that plausible. The closest I have to hands-on experiences was the zombie pub crawls I used to run in Chicago - we'd get a bus full of people dressed as zombie and drive around crashing New Year's parties. It was more fun a couple of years ago than it is now; people just aren't as surprised to see zombies show up at their party or in a bar as they used to be.

Ever meet someone whom you thought (secretly, of course) could be a zombie? Maybe a reclusive neighbor? A distant relative? An old fourth-grade teacher?

There was a rather cadaverous looking guy that roamed around at my high school - I have no idea what he taught, though. There's also some guy in overalls and a trucker hat who's been hanging around outside of a detective agency on Grand Avenue near my apartment here in Chicago - I don't know if he's a zombie, but he's definitely up to something.

I know that most people browsing around a bookstore are drawn to the title or the cover artwork. In the case of your book, which one is most effective?

Gonna skip ahead here; the next question kind of answers this one.

I had your book lying on the dining room table at my apartment. I had no less than four different people tell me it was ‘gross.’ Of course, I thought it was hilarious and ridiculous. I even read them passages from it to prove my point. What would you say to those doubters?

I think that any other year, people would know right away that it was a satire, but people don't seem to be picking up on that - they just think it's some mindless Twilight wannabe. It pisses me off when Zombie people post the cover on a forum and talk about how it's the most awful thing they ever saw and ought to be burned at once. I try to assure the doubters that it's a satire. But, then again, it's not JUST a joke book; I wanted the love story in it to be about as credible and realistic as I could make it and address the kind of issues that you have to deal with in every relationship (and which rarely turn up in books). So, at risk of annoying the Twi-hard, I'd like people to know that it's the perfect book for people who hate Twilight.

How hard is it to write funny books? Imbuing your words with the meaning you want them to have isn't easy, so how do you manage to make people laugh out loud? (Or, how long does it take you to come up with jokes?)

If I'm in the right mood, it's pretty easy. If I'm not, it's just about impossible. So, on a good day, the jokes practically write themselves, and it doesn't take much time at all. On others, they just never come.

Do you read YA books on a regular basis? Any favorites you’d recommend?

I read a fair share of it, but not as much these days, since I have no real interest in Twilight knock-offs, which make up about 2/3rds of the shelves this year (though i do like Claudia Gray - her books are cool). There's another zombie book out right now called FEED by Mira Grant that's pretty awesome, too.

How hard is it to get in the head of a teenage girl?

It's always hard to make up enough about a character to feel like you know what makes them tick and how to make them realistic, but making up a girl isn't much harder than making up a guy. It's easier, if anything, because I'm less concerned that people will assume that the main character is just a thinly-veiled version of myself.

If you had to own a cow (in a naturally-occurring cow color), what color cow would you own?

That light brown color that you see on cows sometimes.

I’ve been hearing about a Zombies vs. Unicorns war that is brewing in the YA sphere. Who do you pick for the win?

There's a unicorn in the Zombie follow-up that I'm finishing now. In my particular world, your average unicorn could probably beat up your average zombie, but they might be outnumbered in the long run. And humans would probably join in on the zombie side.

What is going to cause the Apocalypse?

Probably either a meteor of a supervolcano. But even that might not happen until we get a few colonies going off-planet. So I suppose the apocalypse will just come whenever the Flying Spaghetti Monster decides that enough is enough.

Thank you for joining us, Adam!

Now, for all of you who haven’t gotten your hands on I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It yet, I’m giving it away.Plus an ARC of Zombies vs. Unicorns that I picked up at ALA (signed by Holly Black!).AND some sweet Team Zombie flair. So, to be clear: one winner gets I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It, an ARC of Zombies vs. Unicorns, and zombie buttons. Entry information below!

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To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering the question, "Who are the best kissers: vampires, werewolves or zombies?" You can get one extra entry if you comment on my review.

Please include your email address or another method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on August 7 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winners via email.

Alyce at At Home with Books is doing a weekly feature where she highlights one of her favorite reads from the past and encourages others to do so as well.

A lot of my picks for this meme date from the days when my mom homeschooled me. Well, it makes sense. I was homeschooled for six years, from ages eight to fourteen, and those years are crucial for development and education. They’re also great years for discovery and history and learning to love the written word. I mentioned in this post that my mom taught several Ancient World units. We took our time with Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and as a result, I can remember a lot of the mythology and history to this day.

One of the most memorable books from that period was D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. My mother started by reading the myths aloud, but I was anxious to learn more, and I ended up reading most of the book to myself in between lessons. When we cleared out the schoolroom area a couple of years ago, I found several ‘essays’ on the Greek myths that I wrote around that time. My 10-year old handwriting is funny, but my vocabulary was stellar. Talk about precocious!

Mighty Zeus, with his fistful of thunderbolts, Athena, goddess of wisdom, Helios the sun, greedy King Midas--here are gods, goddesses, and legendary figures of ancient Greece brought to life in the myths that have inspired great literature and art throughout the ages.

This book contains retellings and illustrations of most of the major Greek myths, and many lesser-known tales as well. While the textual portion is remarkably thorough and doesn’t over-simplify the myths, its strength is in illustration. I still remember the beautiful renderings tied to specific stories – the depiction of the Titans, or of Demeter and Persephone, or of Zeus and Europa. I think these were done with oil pastels or colored pencils – and the bright colors caught my younger eye and stirred my imagination.

Later, when we read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology in high school, I already had a firm grasp on the myths, what they meant, and who did what. I was also actually interested, because of that early exposure to D’Aulaires’ fabulous pictures. I’m proud now to be able to understand the symbolism and the literary references I find in my adult reading. And now that Percy Jackson and the Olympians have come along, there’s even more interest among the younger set about what these heroes and gods did, and if any of it is important.

Recommended for: anyone with an interest in mythology, but especially younger readers, and fans of illustrated books.It’s not heavy and complicated – it’s meant to be transparent and understandable.Oh, and fun too!

When people ask me what my favorite genre is, I usually say ‘SCI-FI and fantasy.’Just like that, I prioritize sci-fi, even though the majority of my reading is on the fantasy side of things.But there’s a little bit of me that still thinks it’s more acceptable to be caught reading sci-fi than fairy tales or anything with magic.Why?Probably leftover guilt from hiding most books with magic from my mom as a kid.I could read whatever I wanted, but I didn’t show her anything I thought might be ‘questionable.’

Or maybe it’s that while reading sci-fi is undeniably nerdy, it is also proof positive that you are intelligent.Or maybe it’s just the look on people’s faces when you confidently say ‘fantasy!’It used to be that you’d get vague answers of ‘Oh, you like the Tolkien books?’ but now the stakes have changed.New number one response?‘Have you read the Twilight series?’Sigh.Just so you know, I read the first one.Quit after that.Have nothing against vampires except that they’re overdone.Or sparkly.But you know.

Enter Elitist Book Reviews.These people know literary condescension inside and out.Well, and they’re hilarious.You’ll actually like it and start to crave it when they talk down to you. Wait…that’s just me? *ahem*I saw a book over at the site that clearly fitted as sci-fi, and also had airships on the cover (hello, my steampunk obsession?), and the review mentioned ANGELS.I tried to imagine how that combo could be bad.Didn’t succeed.Ordered Terminal World straight away.

Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different - and rigidly enforced - level of technology. Horsetown is pre-industrial; in Neon Heights they have television and electric trains.

Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue. But when a near-dead angel drops onto his dissecting table, Quillon's world is wrenched apart one more time, for the angel is a winged posthuman from Spearpoint's Celestial Levels - and with the dying body comes bad news.

If Quillon is to save his life, he must leave his home and journey into the cold and hostile lands beyond Spearpoint's base, starting an exile that will take him further than he could ever imagine. But there is far more at stake than just Quillon's own survival, for the limiting technologies of the zones are determined not by governments or police, but by the very nature of reality - and reality itself is showing worrying signs of instability...

There are reasons I love sci-fi.Some of them are obvious: I expand my vocabulary, or it’s a good conversation topic for when I meet a cute, geeky boy.Not that those are real reasons (except for maybe in my subconscious).But the other ones: where I learn about science, and where the plot is often the driving force, where the intricacies of world building really start to matter and add up.Also?A lot of sci-fi novels are big, fat books.You can’t finish them in one sitting.Although I like to gobble up a book as much as the next person, there’s something to be said for a story that you have to consume over a couple days and nights, and makes you dream of the stars.

I enjoyed this book.I read it in as close to one sitting as I could manage.In fact, I stayed up all night before work on Monday to finish it.I enjoyed it, but it was not life changing.I was happy to be caught up in investigating a new/distant future and to see which twists and turns the story would take.But I didn’t love or connect to any one character so much that it flipped the story from ‘like’ to ‘love’ territory. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm lukewarm. It's solidly in 'like,' and nowhere near 'dislike' or 'meh.'

I think part of it had to do with the ways in which the characters and their histories were revealed.We come into a story where everyone has a background, or a dark, secret past.And while some of that was unraveled, a lot of it was left in the background, and it seemed like we were supposed to take it on faith that those things put the characters in ‘gray’ territory.But really?This story could not have been more black and white. I was never in any doubt of anyone’s motives, nor did I ever feel any sympathy for the devil, as it were.

Terminal World did have strengths, of course.The description was really first rate.The inventiveness of the world building and the route of the adventure and the overall mystery were also top-notch. There were action scenes to make anyone's heart pound. There’s also enough left out of the story to guarantee that sequels can follow.It’s just too bad that it didn’t hit the sparkling highs I expected.I guess that means I’ll just have to try another sci-fi novel!

Recommended for: sci-fi fans, anyone with a thing for angels or dirigibles (especially together!), aerial battles and sky pirates, and those who are in the mood for a big, fat book with an interesting plot.

fredamans answered the question, “What is the essential steampunk accessory?” with “Most definitely could not leave the house without my Steampunk Watch Gadget!”

Congrats, winners!Happy reading!Everyone: be on the lookout for more contests soon (yes, it’s an addiction.but it’s not a PROBLEM.i swear.)!

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Oh, you were waiting for the hilarious insight bit?I guess I’ll let you have it.This is SO ME.All my friends agree.Not sure if that’s depressing or hilarious, but the blog post almost made me wet my pants I was laughing so hard…

Many, many thanks to all of my followers, both old and new.You keep me on my toes, inspire me, and make me laugh.Now, go enter the giveaways for White Cat by Holly Black and Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George while they’re still open!

I used to write a lot more about my daily life on the blog. Actually, this thing started as a personal blog, and I talked about coffee, and sometimes mysiblings (they’re awesome), and sometimes really embarrassing stories. But books are a huge part of my life, and after a while they took over the blog. That’s fine, but I still have a couple of people out there who request ‘normal stories.’

Behold, an email conversation with my sister yesterday on this very topic.

ginny: you are hilarious. i want to see some 'regular' life stories. like you used to. so how about posting about the sounders game [I went to a Sounders v. DC United game last night]? LOVES you bunches of bananas!

Me: I don't post about 'regular' life stuff because I don't know what to say anymore. Like, I don't know if it's funny or why anyone would want to read it. You know? If you gave me a way to spin it I might...Hugs!

ginny: just say: my sister demanded a 'real life' update. or if you want to post about the sounders game, you could say that although you like posting things about yummy recipes, you also like posting things about yummy looking males (cuz who doesn't??). and you could link to the cute guys w/ cats, hot guys w/ books, and then segue into the sounders game, and how yummy some of them are (cuz didn't you tell me that one of them was an ex-model?) and how you got to see them LIVE!!! easy peasy lemon squeezy.

ginny: and after reading that, i realize: 'why am i not an agent?' *big smile*

And now for my second Book Extravaganza weekend giveaway, I give you Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George.

The engrossing companion novel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, with a wicked twist on Cinderella.

Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other’s countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It’s got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince.

Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.

I’m offering two copies of Princess of Glass for this giveaway, and one of them is signed by the author herself.First winner will get his/her choice, and the second winner will receive the remaining book.

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To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me if you’d like to have a fairy godmother (or not).You can earn an extra entry in the giveaway if you comment on my review.

Please include a method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on July 18 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

I feel like I’ve gone slightly contest crazy. And I like it. The crazy part. Oh heck, the contest part too…

In any case, welcome to the Book Extravaganza! Kristen of Bookworming in the 21st Century and Kate at The Neverending Shelf are hosting a weekend full of giveaways. They’ve gotten book bloggers of all stripes to offer giveaways over July 16-18, and I’m taking part.

So, for my first giveaway (yes, there are TWO!), I’m offering a signed copy of White Cat by Holly Black, an excerpt from Red Glove (Curseworkers #2), black Curseworkers gloves and a button.

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love – or death – and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

Oh yeah, and check out this photo of me with Holly Black! I got to meet her at ALA, where she was signing White Cat and being awesome. As you can tell, she is made of classy, and I have that glazed fangirl look. In other words, all is right with the world. But! You will want to know how to win the book and swag.

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To enter:

Leave a comment on this post with something that makes you smile.It could be a joke, a link, a (very) short story, a book title…whatever you want it to be.You can earn an extra entry for the giveaway if you comment on my review.

Please include a method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on July 18 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.